"What happened? Why is there such a huge commotion on the other side of the island?"
"I don't know. It suddenly went quiet. Do you think it'll affect us?"
"S-something is flying over here!"
Vane did not hide his figure. After sweeping over the group with his Observation Haki, he flew straight toward them.
Vane hovered above their heads, looking down at them as if they were ants, and asked,
"Where is the Devil Fruit?"
There was no need for them to answer. He directly read the thoughts of the one who seemed to be the leader.
"It's inside the room."
Hearing Vane's words, the leading knight turned and rushed into the room. The Devil Fruit must not be lost. If it came to the worst, he would eat it himself and bring the ability back to Elegant Kingdom.
Now was exactly that worst-case moment. At first glance, the captain had already recognized Vane's identity—the 300 million Belly great pirate.
Born in the Grand Line's Elegant Kingdom and holding a relatively important position, he knew very well that a bounty reaching this level was not something they could easily contend with.
Bang!
Vane was even faster. The moment the other party rushed through the doorway, Vane shattered the roof and entered the house. With his back to the door, he reached for the box on the table.
The captain of Elegant Kingdom made his decision instantly. The enemy's back was turned! At this distance, he definitely had a chance!
His goal shifted from eating the Devil Fruit to killing the opponent from behind.
The captain had skill. He swiftly drew his blade and lunged, aiming for the opponent's heart.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind carrying Netherworld Mist wrapped around the charging captain.
Crack—crack—
The inertia of his charge carried him out of the Netherworld Mist, but when he reappeared, his entire body had already turned into an ice sculpture, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"You're very dutiful. Unfortunately, you've suffered an undeserved disaster."
Vane did not believe the World Government had told them they had already become bait.
Otherwise, this Devil Fruit would have been quietly sent away in secret.
"The ones who took your Devil Fruit are Nation-Slayer Vane and Gecko Moria."
Bringing up Moria's name was meant purely to disgust the World Government.
"Use the bows!"
"He's flying too fast—we can't catch up!"
The guards who tried to draw their bows had only just set arrows in place when they realized the enemy had already flown far beyond their range.
The soldiers of Elegant Kingdom still had no idea what had happened. This was entirely an undeserved disaster for them.
Even their movements had been sold out by the World Government.
...
"As expected, it's a fragment of Regice."
This time, what he obtained was also a fragment of Regice. It seemed that until he gathered the twentieth item, this kind of fragment would keep appearing.
As for whether the energy inside differed from that of Articuno feather, that would have to wait. He still had two and a half Articuno feather energies left to fully absorb.
Vane returned to the Thunder Fortress. Those unlucky pirates who had followed from Mock Town had already been thrown onto Crescent Island. Several World Government agents and Gecko Moria were being watched over by Meowth.
"This little interlude was truly delightful. So many gains all at once."
There were two main gains.
The Clear-Clear Fruit and Gecko Moria.
Moria was a man of value. Vane intended to try recruiting him.
In the future, he would be considered the bottom of the Shichibukai—even inferior to Buggy. After all, Buggy relied on his Conqueror's Haki-level luck to become a Yonko recognized by the Marines.
Moria, on the other hand, kept getting beaten. He was beaten by Luffy. During the Summit War, he was first beaten by Jinbe, then by Doflamingo. Two years later, Crocodile and Hawk Eyes, who had also suffered from the era's changes, formed Cross Guild and became the right and left hands of "Yonko Clown Buggy."
Moria was then used as a stepping stone for the Blackbeard Pirates. Every time he appeared, it was to elevate someone else.
But after all, he had once been a formidable figure. Now that Vane had reignited his lost Haki, as long as he was properly trained and didn't continue down a crooked, self-destructive path, he would surely become a very capable right-hand man.
"Monet, come with me to the captain's cabin."
Monet, having been called, realized something and silently followed.
"Baccarat, the boss has been calling Monet to stay by his side lately. She's not going to steal your position, is she?"
"Get lost. Stop stirring up trouble."
Baccarat kicked the gossiping crew member away.
She was an ability user on the ship and counted as one of the veteran members. Now she no longer had to be as cautious as when she first joined, worrying about being abandoned.
Her dynamic with Vane was simple—do not defy him, and let everything else take its natural course. This was a man she could never truly control.
...
"I called you in because—"
"I'm willing, Lord Vane."
"That's good. The process might not feel very pleasant, but you'll definitely like it… Why are you taking off your clothes?"
When Vane turned around to take out the Devil Fruit, Monet had actually started undressing.
The scene stirred certain memories in Vane. It felt similar to a scene from Sword Art Online, one of the first anime he had gotten into.
"Put them back on… cough, cough—half off is fine too. After all, this Devil Fruit makes it the same whether you're wearing clothes or not."
For a moment, Monet didn't know whether to continue undressing or put them back on. Her mind felt muddled.
Until a strange taste filled her mouth—something had been put inside… It was the Devil Fruit!
No wonder it tasted so awful and bizarre.
"Don't spit it out. Make sure you swallow it."
Monet struggled to swallow the Devil Fruit, and a mysterious power emerged.
She watched with her own eyes as her hands began to disappear into the air, and soon her entire body vanished from sight.
"This is amazing! I've completely disappeared!"
"The Clear-Clear Fruit grants the ability to make yourself—and anything you touch—disappear from others' sight. If developed to the extreme, it might even block a certain degree of Observation Haki."
Whether it could block some Observation Haki wasn't stated in the original work, but Vane believed it could at least block lower-level Observation Haki.
Otherwise, why would Shiryu of the Rain eat the Clear-Clear Fruit? To clear out fodder? If it couldn't even block the most basic Observation Haki on a high-level battlefield, then Shiryu eating it would be a complete joke.
"Even though you've eaten the fruit, you can't give up physical training. In the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, Devil Fruit abilities can still bully people a bit. But in the New World, abilities aren't foolproof."
Through-Through Fruit Lena, Warp-Warp Fruit Sugar, Clear-Clear Fruit Monet, Castle-Castle Fruit Meowth… heh heh heh—
The nobles' and kings' treasure vaults… every last bit of it will be mine.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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